This paper studies the implications of (endogenously) directed technical change for the design of non-linear labor income taxes in a Mirrleesian economy augmented to include endogenous technology development and adoption choices by firms. First, I identify conditions under which any progressive...

The traditional concept of a strict minimum of nontaxable income equal for all taxpayers embedded in most current income-tax systems is the result of a paradox of fiscal egalitarianism. The paper shows that substituting the traditional notion of a strict minimum of nontaxable income for a scheme...

Based on data from a computer-based survey among more than 500 German respondents, this paper empirically examines the effect of actual equivalent income and estimated income position as well as behavioral factors on absolute and relative donations. Donations were measured in an incentivized...

We look at the effect of domestic redistribution policy on offshoring in an asymmetric two country model of monopolistic competition, heterogeneous firms and occupational choice. The redistribution scheme is modeled by a combination of a progressive income tax and a lump-sum transfer. We find...

We use data on 180,000 households in the Swiss Canton of Bern and the years 2008-2013 to analyse whether one instrument (the income tax) vs. two instruments (income tax and public utility pricing) are adequate for income redistribution. The results of our structural estimation show that under...

This paper documents the magnitude, pattern, and evolution of lifetime earnings inequality in Germany. Based on a large sample of earning biographies from social security records, we show that the intra-generational distribution of lifetime earnings of male workers has a Gini coefficient around...

We examine the determinants of inter vivos transfers of ownership in German family firms between 2000 and 2013. Survey evidence indicates that owners of larger firms, and firms with strong current business conditions, transfer ownership at higher rates than others. When a firm’s self-described...